Rich Notifications

Discover the keys to creating informative, useful and beautiful rich notifications in iOS. Get practical and detailed guidance about how to design short looks, long looks, and quick actions that will make your app's notifications something people look forward to receiving.

Like, notifications, they're
really fun and they're a big
reason we love our iPhones so
much.
But I think as we all know maybe
too much of a good thing is not
always such a good thing, right?
And I would imagine there's a
few of you that have some apps
that look like this, right?
So let's talk about what we can
do to make sure all these
notifications are something
really great?
So first off, let's be mindful
of people's time.
You know, we should send
notifications only when they're
relevant.
Don't spam.
Don't send them to boost traffic
or engagement, but only when
your app has some important
information to share.

When asking for permission to
send them, you know, be clear
why.

Explain what notifications are
going to be about, and the value
that they will provide.

You know, because there is a
real consequence if you send too
many and they're not informative
or useful.
You know, people can shut them
off, or maybe even delete your
app.
And nobody wants that.
I'd like to stress this point
here.
Don't think of notifications as
just a hook into your app.

You know, they should be a
self-contained package of
information that allows you to
complete a specific task.
Because if someone does interact
with your notification, we want
to make sure it is worthwhile to
them.
Because if you create delightful
and useful notifications, there
is a real opportunity to create
a bond between people and your
app, and that is going to create
a real value for you as
developers, and real value for
everyone that uses your app.
So, to make sure we're on the
same page here, let's talk about
what makes a rich notification.
Starting with a Short Look, this
should answer the question: What
is this notification about?
So when you're creating these,
make sure you're following the
current APIs.
You know, we just had some
updates in iOS 11, take
advantage of those.
We want to make sure you
populate all the proper fields
and labels.
And take a minute to make sure
the language that you're using
here is clear, informative and
direct.
So now if you use 3D Touch and
you press on the notification,
you get what we like to call the
Long Look.

And here is where you should
provide some additional context,
some additional information
around your notification.
So here, you can see in the
calendar notification I get more
details about the event, and I
get to see a detail of my day,
and that's the extra content
that makes this really valuable.
It's nice to know more about the
event, but it is really helpful
in this case to know if I'm
free, because at the bottom of
the notification there can be
some optional Quick Actions.
So if it relates to the
notification, add some relevant
buttons.
Remember, we want people to see
the alert, get the information
they need, do what they need to
do, and then get back to what
they were just doing.

So now that I know that I'm
free, I can go on and I can
accept the invitation.

I never had to launch the
calendar app, and I never lost
context of what I was doing.

So in creating a notification,
remember, the Short Look should
describe what the notification
is about.
The Long Look should provide
some contextually relevant
information, and the Quick
Actions should provide some
quick actions.

So let's get into some examples
now of what great, rich
notifications look like, and all
the different things you can do.
So here is a notification for
mail.

And you can see you are
presented with the sender's
name, the subject of the
message, and a few lines of
preview.
Now, when I expand this open, I
get to see the rest of the
message.
So at a minimum, this is what we
want to be doing.
And if you've got some content
that gets truncated in the Short
Look, let's show the rest of it
in the Long Look.
The next thing we can do to make
notifications more useful is by
adding an image.
So here is Photos, sending a
notification.
You can see the stream it was
posted to.

You could see who posted it, and
there is a thumbnail on the
right-hand side there.

Those are all helpful bits of
information.
Now, in this Long Look, I can
just see a big version of the
photo and some relevant quick
actions.

So remember here, when you're
adding an image, it doesn't need
to be just a photograph.

This is where you can use some
of your app UI.
So if you have custom UI, custom
typography, elements that make
your app unique, you should add
them here.

You know, just like our calendar
example from before.
Or if you have a data-heavy app,
maybe you have charts and
graphs, flow diagrams, things
like that, you can add those.

If you have a weather app, maybe
you should show the conditions
graphically, present stock
charts if that's your app.
You know, show information as
it's designed in your app.

Here you can see when Tips
presents a notification, they
tell you what it is, right in
the Short Look.
Now, when you expand it, this
notification really comes to
life with video content and
plays a movie, and it shows you
the tip.

It's an example where I don't
need to go into the app to learn
what the tip is about.

I get all the information I need
right in the video in line with
the Long Look.

So I think a nice example here
might be for games.
You know I think if you're
playing chess or some other
turn-by-turn game like that, you
know, when someone makes a move,
you can show their last turn
back to them right in the
notification.

Now remember, these examples are
bringing notifications to life
with UI animations.

And if those are a big part of
your app, use those in the
notifications.

But you can also have
traditional video content here
as well.

So if you have news clips,
sports highlights, things like
that, if video is a part of your
app, make that a part of your
notifications.
So here is a Missed Call in
Voicemail notification.
I can see my friend, Chance, he
gave me a call, left a
voicemail.
And when I get to the Long Look
here, I can see the missed call,
I can listen to the audio
message or I can just read the
transcription, all without ever
having to go into the phone app.
Everything I need to know about
the missed call is here, the
audio, the transcript, and some
relevant actions.
It's a nice, self-contained
package.
So we've talked about you can
add images, you can add video,
audio to your notifications,
well the next thing you could do
is have a custom view that
updates live.
So here is Find My Friends.
Chance wants to share his
location with me.
And when I expand this
notification, I get to see his
current location.
So you can update the content of
a Long Look in real time.

So any case where you're using a
map, that is a nice example.
So if you have a social app, you
could see your friends, maybe
some sort of delivery service,
flight tracking, things like
that.
Or if you have dynamic data in
your app, something that is
based on live events, update
that too.
Stock prices, sports scores,
social feeds, things like that.
If your app updates in real
time, your notifications should
update in real time.
And finally, you can go totally
custom and build a really rich
[inaudible] experience.
So I can see my friend Chance,
he sends me an iMessage, when I
expand this, I see Messages
draws the actual conversation,
straight with bobbles and
effects, and images and
attachments, and because the
thread updates live, if he
starts typing, we present the
indicator.
And I think that is a really
helpful piece of information
because it lets me know to keep
the notification open for just a
moment longer, because when he
sends his next message, the
thread updates, and it appears
right inline.
Now, if I want to engage in the
conversation I can reply to him,
and we can go back and forth,
and keep our conversation going
until we're through.

Once we're done chatting, I just
swipe the notification away, and
I get back to what I was just
doing.
So, Mic is a really cool app
that builds a big part of their
experience around our
notification platform.
So I can see they posted a
Breaking News alert about a
secret government spacecraft, I
think.

You know that sounds pretty
cool, let me read that story.
So when I expand the Long Look,
I get to see a big photograph
from the article.
I get the headline, and I get to
read the rest of the story.
I think it's really great.
You know, I expanded this
notification because I was
interested in the story and now
I get to read the whole thing,
and I never lost context of what
I was doing.
Castro is my favorite podcast
app.
It's really great.
It's really well done, and I get
a notification every time there
is a new episode.
So here, in the Long Look, I get
to see the title, there's the
duration, there's a nice
description, and even a
thumbnail of the show's artwork
there in the bottom right.
And what's nice here is that
it's typeset just like their
app.
So I think this is a really nice
example of how an app can bring
their custom design language
from their app into the
notification experience.
It's really well considered.
It is really great.

And the Quick Actions are nice,
too.
You know, now that I've learned
more about the show, I can just
start listening.
And finally, Kuna.

This is one of my favorite
examples.
You know, this is a smart camera
that you can place by your front
door.
So here, you get a notification
letting you know that your
camera has detected some
activity outside.

And I just think this is like
the perfect case for a Long
Look.

You know, if you are telling me
someone is at my front door, you
know, I want to see it, right?
Like, I just want to play the
video back right in the Long
Look.

So let's see what was happening
outside.
It looks like my friend, Chance,
is stopping by [laughter], oh,
that's funny.
There's a real video for this
camera, too.
He's okay.
And the click actions, too, "Can
I help you?"
I think that's nice [laughter].
All right, so let's recap here.

Let's make sure the Short Look
is giving you clear information
about what the notification is
for.
Let's make sure the Long Look is
providing more context around
the notification and bringing
out some of those wonderful
design details from your apps
into the notifications.
Let's make sure we have some
relevant Actions.

Remember, I am going to be able
to do everything I need to do,
and just take care of the
notification.
You know, because if we all get
together and we do that, the
next time you hear this [bell
rings], and the next time you
see this, we won't have to
worry, because we will know all
those notifications will be
something that is really great.

Thank you.

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